How Vampire Diaries Season 5 Finale Should Have Ended
by LowTide1322
Summary: This is how I think the Season 5 finale should have ended. (5x22) It has most of the same plot with a few alterations. Enjoy! STARTING SEASON 6
1. Part 1

Caroline looked up and saw Damon and Elena enter the room.

"Care, what's wro—," Elena saw Stefan lying, dead, on the couch. "Oh my God, Stefan."

"I couldn't just leave him outside, so I brought him here!" Caroline sobbed, "Liv's working on a spell, right? We can bring him back, right?"

Elena hugged Caroline, "Everything will be okay, I promise." While hugging Caroline, she looked at Damon. His gaze was fixed on Stefan's lifeless face. Elena slowly stood up.

"Damon…?" Elena saw Damon's face expression change from sadness to anger.

"What happened, Caroline?! You sure as hell better tell me now or I swear—,"

"Damon, stop."

"No! I leave him for two seconds and he's dead! He's dead! There has to be someone to blame, and Blondie here is first on the list."

"You sound just like Julian when he ripped Stefan's heart out of his chest!" Caroline screamed. She squeezed her eyes shut, reliving the horrible moment over and over.

"What?" Damon's face softened.

"We were waiting for Bonnie, and then Julian came and asked where his wife was, and we told him she was dead, and then he got all worked up and I tried to snap his neck," she was choked up for a moment, "and then he and Stefan got into a fight and he ripped out his heart. There was nothing I could do."

Damon knelt beside the form of Stefan, and touched his desiccated face.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. He stood up, "Well, we aren't helping him by looking at him," Damon covered Stefan with a blanket, "It looks like we have a traveler to hunt."

* * *

Stefan watched as Damon yelled at Caroline. Stefan would do something, but he knew it was no use. They couldn't hear him. He was on the other side now. The other side which was falling apart and could blow him into oblivion at any second.

As he thought this, he felt the wind pick up. This is weird, he thought, I'm inside. He then was getting pulled backwards out the window behind him. He tried to grab onto something but it was too late. Right when he was about to get sucked into oblivion, he heard a familiar voice.

"I got you!"

Stefan looked up and saw Lexi, grabbing his hand and pulling him away from the window.

"Lexi?"

* * *

"Damon, you can't do this," Elena cut Damon off as they were walking to his car.

"You're right; I can't, because Markos already has him. I got a text from Liz. I'm sure he'll give him hell."

"But if he kills Julian, then he kills Tyler too," Caroline said from behind them.

"Then if we're bringing back Stefan, we'll bring Tyler back too. Simple as that," Damon went around Elena to his car, and Elena and Caroline went to theirs.

"I don't think he's taking this well," Elena said to Caroline.

"I don't think anyone can. Do we know if Bonnie saw him?" Caroline replied.

"Hold on, let me call her." Elena took out her phone as Caroline started the car.

"Hello?" Bonnie answered.

"Hey, Bonnie. We were wondering if, uh, you've seen Stefan…by any chance."

"I haven't seen him…,"

"We know that he's dead, Bonnie. Just tell us the truth."

Bonnie hesitated, "He passed on. I think I might have seen him with Lexi."

Elena let out a small sigh of relief. At least Stefan was with his best friend, and he wasn't alone. As long as he wasn't pulled into darkness, Damon wouldn't go insane. "Good. I don't think Damon is taking this all very well, so—,"

"Um, speaking of Damon, I think he's here."

"Like, dead?!"

"No! I just saw him pull up. I don't know if you were just with him, but can you come by soon? I don't feel safe around Damon, considering he isn't in the best mood."

"We'll be over as soon as we take care of something first."

"Alright, bye," Bonnie hung up.

"Now, let's find Liv."

* * *

Liv and Luke were driving down an old highway when they saw Elena Gilbert in front of their car.

"Luke, stop!" Liv yelled. The car screeched to a halt. "Hmm, I bet if we try to back up…."They then saw Caroline Forbes behind them.

"Great. They're using our trick," Luke said as they both got out of the car.

"We need your magic," Elena said.

"I'm sorry. I really am. But as long as you and Stefan are alive, I can't use magic," Liv said, putting her hands up.

"That's why we need you. Stefan's dead, and we need your help to bring him back."

"What? How did it happen?"

"It doesn't matter how, we need you, so will you help us or not?" Elena took a step forward towards Liv.

"Look, we're trying to get as far away from Mystic Falls as we can. Besides, I don't know a spell to bring people back from the other side."

"Then you better learn one," Caroline snapped Luke's neck, "because your brother is there now too."

* * *

"Bonnie!"

Bonnie heard Damon yell as he kicked down her dorm room door.

"Look, Damon, I know what happened, and I am doing everything I can—," Bonnie tried.

"Enough excuses! You know how to bring people back, don't you? You just won't tell us what it is!"

"It's impossible! Unless you have multiple dead travelers, I can't bring anyone back."

"If that's what you need, I can get you that. Easily. I just need them all in one place."

"It's still too hard! We also need a spell—,"

"We have that," Elena and Caroline appeared in the doorway.

"What do you mean?"

"We persuaded Liv to find a spell, so now she'll help us."

"Alright then. It looks like that part is settled. Now I'm gonna go clear my mind, and figure out how to get all the damn travelers in one spot." Damon pushed past all of them.

"I'll come with you," said Elena.

"No. You girls stay here and do your portion. I need some time alone." With that, he vampire-sped away.

"I'm worried about him," Elena said.

"You were really bad when you're brother died, remember?" Caroline crossed her arms.

"I just hope he doesn't do anything he'll regret."

* * *

Damon entered the building in which he first saw his brother dead. He took the blanket off of him and stared at his face. Out of the many days that Damon had lived, this was the worst one. Yes, Damon hadn't always gotten along with Stefan. Hell, he'd tried to kill him before, and although he _could _have, he never _would_. Throughout all of these years, no matter what Stefan did, Damon had always loved his little brother. But Damon had never known how much he loved him until he was gone.

Damon felt rage replace his sadness. He smashed all of the tables, broke the windows, and slammed his fist against the walls.

"Damnit, Stefan! Why do you always have to be the hero?!" Damon yelled, "How come the best people always get the worst in return?! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?"

* * *

Stefan watched his brother destroy the room around him.

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?" Stefan heard him cry.

"I never meant for this to happen, Damon! Do you think I want you to feel this way? I didn't mean to hurt anyone else!" Stefan got up in his brother's face, but Damon looked right through him.

"It's no use. He can't hear or see you." Stefan turned around to see Lexi.

"I was just trying to save Caroline! I didn't want anyone to go through any trouble! If Markos hadn't drained me of my blood…maybe I could've stayed alive."

"Hey," Lexi put her hand on his shoulder, "you gave it your best shot. That counts for something."

"Just, please give me a moment. Maybe I can get his attention."

Lexi nodded and exited.

* * *

Damon collapsed on the ground, broken. His brother was gone, his only family left. They had gone through so much together. Everything was starting to hit him, hit him hard. Stefan had given himself over to Klaus to save Damon's life, he'd saved Damon numbers of times, and he had lost Elena to Damon. The last time Stefan saw him and Elena was when they were about to drive away, when they kissed. That must have stung, no matter how much Stefan insisted they be together. He'd been locked in a safe, drowning for months, and he had gotten his memory wiped. And what did he do to deserve that? Nothing. What did Damon do to help save him? Nothing. And nothing was all Damon wanted to feel.

Damon looked at where Stefan lay. For the first time in years, maybe decades, Damon began to feel tears roll down his cheeks, and they wouldn't stop coming. He knew he couldn't break down at a time like this, but he couldn't help feeling remorse.

"I'm so sorry brother. You didn't deserve any of this. I'm going to bring you back, and you will have _everything _you ever wanted." Damon put his head against Stefan's empty chest.

A few minutes later, Damon got up. He couldn't complete the task at hand feeling this way. He had to turn off his emotions. Before he could, Damon heard scratching on one of the tables. He looked behind him, and saw a message scratched on it. It read:

_**I'm here**_

Damon looked around.

"So, did you see all of that brother? You could've sent me a message earlier, save me from embarrassment."

Damon knew he couldn't stay any longer. The other side was falling apart, and if he wanted to save Stefan, he needed to find some travelers.

"I'll see you soon. I promise you that."

With that, Damon left behind his little brother until they met again, living or dead.


	2. Part 2

"Did you find someone to teach us the spell?" Bonnie asked Enzo.

"Well, yes. Not someone you'd particularly like though."

A figure approached. "I just watched an old woman get sucked into never-never land, and it was actually amusing."

"Stefan," Bonnie sighed with relief of seeing her friend.

"Not exactly," Enzo smirked, anticipating what Bonnie's reaction would be.

"Oh my God," Bonnie knew now who stood before, her, and it was _not_ her friend, "Silas."

"The one and only." Silas smiled deviously.

"You –you killed my dad!" Bonnie took a step back in disgust.

"Considering the mess you've got us all into, I think you're going to want to let bygones be bygones. I want to come back to life, and you want the less-hot version of me back, so we have no choice but to help each other."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, not understanding what Silas meant.

Silas rolled his eyes in annoyance. "_I_ know the spell that we need, and if you find a witch, I'll teach it to them. Simple?"

"What about Amara? I thought you wanted an eternity together. I assume you haven't found her." Bonnie replied.

Silas pinned her against the wall behind her. "Don't you _ever _talk about her, you useless brat! You don't know what I have been through trying to find her. You don't know what it's like to realize that the person you love is gone forever, and you can never see them again. You got your friends back every time they die, but I don't have that luck. So, the only chance I have at being happy is to live again." He let her go and turned to Enzo.

"No comment? I thought you were the snarky one."

"It's been an off day." Enzo rubbed his hands together, "So! Are we ready to do this thing or not?"

* * *

"Now, if I were a vampire hunter slash history teacher, where would I be?" Lexi said.

"Since when do you care about Alaric so much?" Stefan raised an eyebrow at his best friend.

"I don't know. Maybe it's just that he has an interesting name; Alaric." She smiled. They walked into the Mystic Grill, hoping they would find Alaric, but to no avail.

"That was nice."

"What?"

"What you did for Damon. Sending him a message just before he turned off his humanity to remind him that you were there for him. Stefan, as always, saves the day."

"Damon," Stefan paused, "may act like a tough guy, but in reality, he can snap so easily when he is angry enough. I wasn't only trying to protect people that would stand in his way, but protect him from himself. Damon, believe it or not, feels remorse when he turns the switch back on. Anyways, his humanity is important, even if he doesn't see it."

"He's lucky to have you as a brother."

"I'm lucky to have him, too." Stefan smiled.

"On a completely different note, how's your love life?" Lexi nudged him playfully.

"Lexi, we are in a life-or-death situation, and you want to know about my love life?"

"I see Caroline's in the picture," Lexi ignored his question.

"What do you mean?"

"You really don't see it, do you?"

"See what?" Stefan asked, confused.

Lexi sighed in annoyance. "Never mind. How about Elena?"

"I hope she's okay, after seeing me, a-and seeing Damon get angry—."

"She was fine. A little too fine, if you ask me."

"What do you mean?" Stefan asked for the second time.

"If you had died a few months ago, she would have been so sad that she might have turned off her humanity. But seeing your body today, she didn't even shed a tear. Of course she cared, but it made me angry that she didn't show it."

"Oh," was all Stefan could say.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't sensitive of me. What I'm trying to say is that I think deep down she is the saddest she has ever been, but she doesn't remember how much she still loves you. You still love her too, don't you?"

"How can I not? I can never stop loving her, even if she's with Damon now. I guess that's my curse."

"I know moving on still sounds impossible, but—."

"How will I move on if we don't come back to life at all?"

"If luck isn't on our side, our goal is to find peace together, got it? No more fear, guilt, sadness, just peace." Lexi held her head high, showing confidence. Stefan smiled; glad to be with his best friend.

They saw Markos and Liz walk into the bar, talking about the "new home for travelers". Liz suggested that the Mystic Grill should have an open bar.

"They're trying to gather the travelers?" Lexi questioned.

"They're planning something."

* * *

Damon saw Elena approach him.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Elena asked, seeing that Damon looked flushed, and his eyes bloodshot.

"I'm fine—."

"Damon," Elena warned. The tough-guy act didn't work on her. "You're not fine. What's wrong?"

"It's Stefan. Once again, he has tampered with my emotions. I feel the saddest I have ever felt in my entire existence, Elena!" he said, his voice cracking slightly. "In order to save him, I need to play his part as the hero, so I need to do this," Damon said partially to himself.

"Do what?" Damon took his eyes off of Elena's. "Do what, Damon!?"

"The travelers are going to be in the Grill and we are going to blow it up—."

"What!?"

"—and someone needs to start that explosion…"

Realization dawned on Elena. "No! I won't let you do this!"

"When the others pass through Bonnie, I will too. Besides it's the only way we can bring Stefan back."

"If it means losing you, then…"

"How can you say that, Elena? How is it possible that you could forget about someone so easily after losing them? Do you even care that Stefan is dead? Do you remember the times that he saved you? Do you remember how much you loved him? I don't know how much you remember, but Elena, he was the love of your life! Maybe I'm not clear enough. STEFAN IS DEAD! He's dead, Elena! Surely there is some part of you in there that cares about him. I already let my sadness and anger out, and you need to do the same." Damon pushed past her, leaving her speechless.


	3. Part 3

"Oh my God," Elena said, pushing her hair back tightly. _Stefan is dead! He's dead, Elena! _Damon's words played back through her mind. She told herself, _remember_.

All of Elena's memories of Stefan came rushing back to her. The first time they met, their first kiss, the multiple times that Stefan had saved her, and the times they had said _I love you_ to each other. Now, that one person that made her have the will to live when she didn't want to, was gone.

"No! No, this isn't fair!" Finally, the tears started burning in Elena's eyes. _I already let my sadness and anger out, and you need to do the same_. And that's just what Elena did. She cried and cried until no more tears came. She wasn't angry like Damon, but she felt abandoned. Although she still had Damon, Caroline and Bonnie, Stefan was her best friend. He was the one who deserved least to die. She knew that they were going to bring him back, but there was so much to do, she wasn't confident that it would work. And if Damon's life was on the line, well, she couldn't live without either of them. Elena knew now what she had to do, and she knew that Damon wasn't going to like it.

* * *

"Why do you people spend so much of your time at cemeteries?" Silas asked as they entered the Salvatore crypt.

"The spell stopped when Stefan died, and it didn't reach here, so this is where we can meet. Jeremy made a map of Mystic Falls and made a border where the spell stopped," Bonnie answered tiredly.

"Didn't you bring Jeremy back by 'witch magic'? Why hasn't he died when he walks into Mystic Falls?" Silas asked.

"I was using dark magic, so it must not count as witch magic…"

"Uh, who are you talking to?" Liv sat in a corner of the room.

"A ghost," Bonnie said. "One of the perks of being the Anchor. I have the spell ready for you."

"Hey guys!" Caroline entered.

"What are you doing here?" Bonnie asked.

"I'm _not _missing all of my friends coming back from the dead, and I decided the best thing to do to keep my mind off of what happened last night is to get involved."

Bonnie shrugged. When Caroline wanted to do something or go somewhere, there was no way of stopping her. Bonnie had accepted that a long time ago. Bonnie repeated the spell to Liv, and Liv began memorizing it.

"Who taught you the spell, Bonnie?" Caroline asked.

"Just the perfect specimen of man, that's all," Silas said from the other side, unable to be heard by Caroline.

"An old lady," Bonnie said. "Kind of senile."

"Oh. Well, thank you, whoever you are."

Silas smirked. "Technically I am 2000 years old, but I'm not a—."

"Just be quiet!" Bonnie scolded from the side of her mouth.

"What?" Caroline caught what Bonnie was saying with her vampire-hearing.

"Nothing."

Suddenly, the wind picked up on the Other Side. Enzo was pulled back, but Silas was able to get him in front of a tree, but he couldn't get himself in a good position. He was barely hanging on to the back of a tree. Bonnie was going to let him be sucked into oblivion because of what he did to her dad, but she thought about it. Everything that Silas did was to find his true love, Amara. After everything Quetsiyah put him through, he deserved a little bit better, right?

Bonnie didn't have time to choose. She blindly grabbed his hand and pulled him to safety.

"Thank you." He sighed with relief.

Bonnie turned away in response. What she just did she would probably regret later.

"What happened?" Caroline came running out to see why Bonnie had rushed out of the crypt.

"The Other Side. Two people were about to get pulled into oblivion, so I saved them."

"Bonnie the hero!" Caroline smiled but soon became serious, "Does that happen a lot?"

Bonnie hesitated. "Yes."

"Has Stefan…"

"I don't know," she plainly stated. "I haven't seen him in awhile, but if he's with Lexi then I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Okay." Bonnie could tell Caroline wasn't satisfied with that answer, but she could only be honest in this situation.

* * *

As night fell and the time for him to do the unthinkable drew near, Damon drank the last of his liquor, perched on top of his car.

After he finished, he said, "To you, Stefan, you bastard." He threw the bottle on the ground, satisfied with the cracking sound that followed.

His phone buzzed with a text from Liz, saying that everything was ready for their plan. Now all Damon had to do was blow up the building with the travelers in it.

As Damon got into his car, he heard rustling in the trees beside him. Before he knew it, Elena was in his car in the passenger seat, urging him to start the car.

"Elena, what the hell are you doing?"

"If you're going to the Other Side, then I am too. I won't lose you. Or Stefan."

Damon perked up at Elena's change in heart. She noticed this, and she went on.

"I thought a lot about what you said and I realized how selfish I was. The truth is, I still love both of you. I may love you in a romantic way but Stefan is my best friend. I can't live without him." Damon looked down, but Elena touched his face and made him look at her, "And I can't live without you."

"You know there is a chance we won't come back? That _you _won't come back? I can't risk that."

"I don't want to come back if you two don't. I've made my decision, so you might as well respect it and start the car, Damon!"

Damon tried to argue, but Elena made it clear that her decision was final.

"Once we cross the border, you are going feel everything from the night you died. You're going to drown all over again. You might not die as a vampire!" Damon said as they drove closer to Mystic Falls's border of "no-magic".

"I'll still make it to the Other Side. I'm a doppelganger, remember?"

Damon continued to drive into Mystic Falls until he crashed the car into the Mystic Grill. As soon as the car made impact, everything turned black, and he knew no more. Well, sort of.

* * *

Elena found herself in front of Bonnie in the Mystic Falls cemetery. Damon was by her side.

"Good, you made it. Pass through me and come back here as fast as you can. You're going to wake up where you died, so be prepared for that," Bonnie instructed them.

Damon and Elena nodded, and passed through her. Elena "awoke" on the floor of the grill, next to the destroyed car.

"You buckled-up even when you knew you were going to die? Lame." Alaric held his hand out to help her up. Elena immediately hugged him.

"It's good to see you too, Ric." Elena soon realized that Damon was no longer by her side. "Where's Damon?"

"I don't know," Alaric said. "But you go to Bonnie, and I'll wait for him here."

"But—."

"Go, Elena."

Elena didn't argue as she dashed across town to the cemetery. When she finally reached it, she saw a face she thought she would never see again.

"Stefan!"

* * *

As Damon awoke in the grill, he realized something in an instant. _Stefan is here_.

"There you are." Damon looked up to see Alaric standing over him. "Words of advice, once you get the girl, don't blow her up."

"Hey, buddy." Damon was relieved to see his friend, but was full of adrenaline wanting to find Stefan. Before he could take off towards Bonnie, he noticed something. "Where's Elena?"

"I sent her to Bonnie a long time ago. I wouldn't let her stay and wait for you." Alaric answered.

"Why did I take so damn long?" Damon muttered to himself. "Alright then, let's go."

* * *

The wind was really blowing now. Stefan stood next to Bonnie, Luke, Enzo, Tyler (who had joined them recently), Lexi and, regrettably, Silas.

"Did they drive in yet?" Stefan asked.

"They just passed through, and so did Markos and the travelers. The spell's started! Quick, pass through me, now!" Bonnie shouted over the gusting wind.

Everyone hesitated. No one knew what the outcome would be once they touched Bonnie. Would it work? Stefan hoped it would because Damon and Elena and Lexi needed to be able to get through.

"You know what? Screw it, I'm going," Luke said as he touched Bonnie and disappeared from the Other Side. Bonnie grimaced and held her arm where he had touched her.

"Did it hurt?" Tyler asked.

Bonnie shook her head. "No, no, just hurry before Liv tires out and can't do the spell anymore."

With that, Tyler passed through her. Bonnie flinched this time.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Stefan asked, concerned.

"I'm _fine_," Bonnie assured him, although Stefan wasn't convinced.

"Well, in that case—." Enzo then passed through Bonnie and she cringed.

Silas looked at her and felt pity. Not necessarily pity for Bonnie, but pity for Amara. She had to go through the same thing all alone. No wonder she had wanted to die. But it was then that Silas realized something. That burden was lifted off of Amara's shoulders as soon as Bonnie became the anchor. Amara probably found peace, and that was what Silas needed to do in order to get to her.

Silas felt the warmth of the white light shining upon him. Before he was completely engulfed in it, he looked to Bonnie and said, "Thank you." Bonnie nodded in response. And just like that, Silas was gone.

"And then there were three," said Lexi.

"Stefan!"

"Make that four."

Elena practically jumped into Stefan's arms when she got to him.

"I thought I'd never see you again!"

"You shouldn't have gone with Damon. Do you realize how dangerous that was?" Stefan said.

"I had to make sure that both of you came back."

"But still—."

"Enough!" Lexi shouted. "You're both here right now, and we all need to get back to the land of the living!"

"Yes, I would agree with that," a shadowy figure said as it appeared from the woods.

"Markos," Bonnie exclaimed.

"You're plan won't work as well as you had hoped, I'm afraid." Markos reached for Bonnie, but Lexi tackled him. They were fighting for almost a minute when Markos had Lexi pinned to the ground.

"Lexi!" Stefan yelled with worry.

"It's alright! I don't think traveler-boy over here knows what exactly he did to this place." The wind howled and soon Markos wasn't pinning Lexi down in victory, he was holding on for dear life. "Sorry Markos. Looks like _you_ are the cause for your own demise." Lexi taunted him and she pushed him off of her.

"Ahhh!" Markos went flying off into oblivion.

The wind of the Other Side seemed to contemplate whether or not to take Lexi too, but she chose for it. She stood up and spread her arms out wide as the same white light Silas had gone into surrounded her.

"You can't get me," she said to the sky. She looked at Stefan apologetically, realizing they didn't find peace together.

Stefan nodded. "I'll meet you there someday."

Lexi smiled and let the light engulf her.

"I'm sorry, Stefan," Elena said.

"It's okay. She's a lot happier now, I'm sure."

"Come on guys, we don't have much time," said Bonnie, breaking up the conversation.

"But, Damon's not back yet." Elena had just realized that neither Alaric nor Damon had come to meet them yet.

"Elena, you have to go."

"No! I can make sacrifices too!"

Stefan looked at Bonnie, silently telling her to touch Elena to make her pass through. Bonnie nodded back from behind Elena.

"Elena, you _will _get Damon back, I swear to you. And I'll be right behind him, I _promise_," Stefan said to her. But Elena continued to worry.

"Elena, I'm sorry for this but…" Bonnie grabbed Elena, and she disappeared from the Other Side.

Bonnie fell over and began to cough.

"This is killing you isn't it?"

Bonnie nodded. "I don't know how many more I can take before the Other Side collapses because I did."

"You can take Damon and Alaric, right?" Stefan asked.

"I could probably take you, too. Three would be it though."

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

_Great_, Stefan thought, _now what? _

"Oh my God," Bonnie said from the ground. "Kol?"


	4. Part 4

"Elena! Oh, thank God you're okay!" Caroline was going to hug her but she saw tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong? Where's Stefan?"

"Damon isn't back yet," Elena said. "He's not back yet and I'm over here, safe. I can't believe this is happening!"

Elena began to bawl while Caroline tried to console her. Tyler stood next to them, unsure of what to do.

"It'll be okay, Elena, I'm sure of it."

* * *

"What are you doing here, Kol?" Stefan asked while "guarding" Bonnie as she lay on the ground.

"Well, as you know my family has been having a bit of fun at New Orleans. I want to join in," Kol smirked.

"I can't let you do that."

"I don't think you have a choice, mate."

"You're family is better off without you," Stefan sneered.

Kol turned serious. "Do you have any idea what it's like to watch your own family live on without you? Wondering if you'll ever get to talk to them again? I want to _help _them, even if they don't want me there. I have been alive for one thousand years, but I have never been so alone my life. I _deserve_ to come back."

In the moment Stefan was caught off of his guard finding connections to Kol's life and his, Kol pushed him away from Bonnie and passed through her.

"No!" Stefan yelled.

Bonnie screamed in pain as Kol disappeared from the Other Side.

* * *

Elena saw another figure appear from where Bonnie stood. She instantly lit up.

"Damon?"

"Quite the contrary, my dear."

"Kol? How are you here?" Caroline was surprised.

The Original smirked. "I hitched a ride through Bonnie of course. Although, it was hard to get past the broody one—."

"Was Damon there?" Elena cut him off in desperation.

"I'm sorry, _Gilbert_," he said her last name condescendingly, "but your boyfriend wasn't there yet." He laughed, "Now I guess I'll finally have my revenge on you; you'll be miserable for all eternity."

"Get out of here!" Caroline threatened him.

"Alright, fine! I don't know _why _Nik is so obsessed with you. Well! I'm off to New Orleans to visit the family so…don't expect me back…ever." After saying that, Kol vampire-sped off into the woods.

"Don't worry Elena; Damon's going to come back." Caroline reassured her. Although, she wasn't so sure of it anymore.

* * *

"Bonnie! Are you…?"

"I'm fine, but, I don't think I can take all three of you anymore." She coughed again.

Stefan had to think about this. Damon had to get back, no question there. Alaric deserved to come back too. Stefan had already had a long life, while Alaric hadn't.

"I'll stay with you."

"What?! No, Stefan that is _not _an option. We'll see what happens, okay?"

"But if it comes down to me and Damon, take Damon."

Bonnie stood up, shaking her head. "I can't promise that."

"Bonnie," Stefan's emotions were starting to get the better of him, "_please_. He finally has everything he wants! You can't take that away from him."

"I can't take _you _away from him! Did you see what he was like when he found out you were dead? He's _dangerous_. He would be anything _but_ happy if you stayed behind. And I understand that I can't leave Damon behind either. Elena needs him."

"So what are you suggesting? That we leave behind Alaric? He doesn't—."

"Deserve that? Yeah, I know. And I'm not suggesting that."

"Then what are we going to do, Bonnie?!"

Bonnie held a straight face, "I said we'll see what happens."

* * *

Damon and Alaric rushed through the trees, knowing that they needed to hurry before Liv stopped the spell allowing them to go back to the land of the living. As they drew closer to the spot where they were supposed to meet, Damon could tell that there were only two people left there, standing as if waiting. He half-hoped that Stefan would be there, so Damon could see him, but he also hoped that Stefan had made it out from the other side by now.

Finally, they made it to the clearing where they saw Stefan and Bonnie waiting for them. Damon looked awkwardly at his younger brother. He wanted to cry at the sight of him, but he also wanted to smack him because Stefan just _had _to wait for Damon.

"Stefan," Damon said with relief.

"Damon," Stefan said with a hint of urgency in his tone.

"What took you so long? You have Elena worried sick!" Bonnie scolded.

Damon tore his eyes off Stefan. "I don't know. Probably some traveler-witchy-ju-ju. Anyways, Ric, go first."

"What? No, Damon go, Elena needs you." Alaric replied.

"Don't worry; I'll be right behind you."

Alaric nodded. He didn't know the problem that Stefan and Bonnie had been discussing earlier, so he passed through Bonnie and disappeared from the other side. Bonnie screamed in pain and dropped to the ground once again, and nearly fell unconscious.

"Bonnie!" Damon exclaimed.

"I-I'm fine. Stefan...I can't—,"

"I know," Stefan said somberly, "but you know my choice, Bonnie."

Damon turned slowly to face his brother. "What do you mean, 'your choice', Stefan?"

Stefan remained silent.

"Stefan! What the hell are you talking about?!"

Stefan looked away.

"Damnit, Stefan! Do not tell me it's either me or you who has to stay! Stefan!"

"It's either me or you, Damon," Stefan said quietly.

Damon glared at Stefan as tears began to well up in his eyes.

"I'm not going to let you save me, Stefan. Not this time."

"Come on, Damon. You know it's my job to save you, not the other way around," Stefan joked, trying to lighten the mood, but to no avail.

"Don't you _dare _joke about this, Stefan!" Damon said angrily. He was tired of Stefan playing the hero.

"Elena needs you—."

"She needs you just as much! I am sick and tired of you trying to save me! Stop being the hero for once! I have hurt you in so many ways, and I don't know why you waste your time on me! You have never really lived without you worrying about me, and every time you have been the ripper was because of me. When are you going to finally get it through your head? Stop saving me!"

Stefan was furious. "Do you want to know why I 'waste my time on you'? It's because I love you; I love you because you're my _brother_. You want me to forget about you? Leave you behind? I can't."

"Well, neither can I! How do you think this is going to end? I'm not going to let you blink out of existence, Stefan."

Stefan saw Bonnie sit up behind Damon. He knew he had to save Damon one last time, although he wasn't sure how Damon would let him. He also wasn't sure how he could get Damon to Bonnie, but Stefan knew that he had to act fast. Stefan looked at her, and silently told her that he was going to go through with his plan. Bonnie shook her head.

Damon continued. "I can't let anything happen to you! I promised you that. What kind of big brother would I be if I let you die for good? I promised to be there for you, to help you whenever you needed it," Damon felt guilt burn in his gut, "and look where you are now."

Finally, Stefan hugged Damon. He could tell that Stefan was starting to tear up. Damon knew that Stefan needed to live, and to do that Stefan needed to pass through Bonnie. Damon tried to turn and push Stefan to where Bonnie lay, but he seemed prepared for it. Damon had a confused look on his face, but then realization hit him and the look changed into horror.

"I'm sorry, but this is my choice," Stefan said.

Damon was overwhelmed and didn't think clearly as Stefan pushed him down to where Bonnie now sat. Damon felt her cold hand touch his wrist as he looked at her in panic.

"No!" Damon jumped up, but Stefan was no longer in front of him. Damon sunk to his knees.

"Damon…?" said a small voice behind him.

Damon didn't want to look. He wanted to see Stefan in front of him. It all happened too fast. Damon sat there, not turning around to the voice. But soon enough, Elena was in front of him, squeezing the living daylights out of him. It looked like she had been crying, probably for him, but Damon didn't care. His heart was about to explode.

"Damon! Thank God! I thought I'd never see you again! What took you so long?" Elena held his face. She was staring at him, waiting for an answer, but Damon didn't. He didn't look at her.

Elena could sense that there was something wrong. She had never seen Damon like this.

"Damon?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

Damon finally let his eyes meet hers. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were filled with so much emotion Elena was scared of what his answer might be.

Damon managed, "Stefan."

Elena didn't understand at first, but she heard Caroline burst into tears and saw Tyler standing next to her, confused.

"Please, don't tell me…" Elena started but she didn't finish when Luke came out of the crypt and announced the worst thing that she could have heard then.

"Liv stopped the spell. Is everyone here?"

Elena looked at Damon, who now had tears falling from his eyes, but his face was still expressionless. She turned back to Luke.

"No," she coldly stated.

"But how? We gave you plenty of time—."

"Stefan made me go," Damon finished his sentence, completely ignoring Luke. He then stood up, and walked away from the clearing, leaving Elena alone. Caroline continued to cry, but to Elena, everything seemed distant. There was no sound, no ground beneath her. The only thing she felt was guilt. The guilt blew through her like a cold wind, and staked her through the heart. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move, and that thing that could save her from this emptiness, was gone. The withdrawal of Stefan's light and comfort made her scared and all alone.

* * *

Damon tripped through the woods, blinded by pain. He was dying, he had to be. There was a gut wrenching pain that he could not soothe, and it grew throughout his body. Every memory of Stefan replayed in his mind, but after each memory passed, it would only cripple Damon more. This pain was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It wasn't just that Stefan had saved an undeserving Damon yet again without Damon's consent, it was that Stefan was gone forever because of it. Damon ruined Stefan's life and he didn't want to live knowing that. This pain was worse than what he felt when he saw the limp Stefan on the couch at Whitmore. Then, Damon knew that they could get Stefan back, and that he would see his brother again. Now, Damon had no way of knowing where Stefan was going to go. Was he going to find peace? Be blinked out of existence?

Damon cried out in anger and the pain of guilt, and finally fell to the ground.

"I can't do this. Not anymore."

"Damon."

Damon's head shot up to see Bonnie standing in front of him. She still looked weak, but she wasn't dying now.

"Stefan wants to talk to you; to say goodbye."

On the other side, Stefan stood next to Bonnie. It pained him to see Damon like this, and Stefan didn't like knowing that he had caused Damon's pain.

"Tell him he can go to hell," Damon spat.

Stefan lowered his head. "Just tell him that I'm sorry, Bonnie, and tell him that he can't turn it off. He's going to have to move on. Tell him that he shouldn't try to save me, and that he should just think of me as a distant memory. Staying with Elena would be good for him—,"

Bonnie repeated every sentence, but Damon cut her off. "You think it's that easy, Stefan? There is no possible way you could understand. My humanity is _killing_ me, dammit! All because of _you_, brother. Just go and blink out of existence already."

Stefan shook his head and stepped towards Damon, afraid that he was about to break. "You don't mean that," he said and Bonnie repeated.

Damon stood up and his eyes darted around, trying to find where Stefan might be standing. Tears fell from his eyes. "Goodbye, Stefan."

"No, Damon don't—," Stefan took a step towards Damon, but Damon's eyes became expressionless. Stefan watched in horror as Damon wiped the tears from his face, seemingly confused as to why he had been crying in the first place.

Damon smiled coldly. "You two have fun in oblivion." With that, he vampire sped off.

Stefan stumbled backwards, not believing what he just saw. "He-he just turned it off! I thought he would be stronger than that! I thought…"

"I warned you, Stefan. I told you that this would happen—"

Stefan turned towards Bonnie, looking defeated. "It doesn't matter now, does it?"

Bonnie looked at him with pity. "No. It doesn't."

"Let's just say goodbye." They walked back to the clearing in silence.

* * *

Elena watched as Bonnie appeared from the woods and began talking to Caroline. All that Elena could make out was that Bonnie was being a "spokesperson" for Stefan. Elena didn't want to listen to the conversation, so she stood up from the ground and rushed into the Salvatore crypt. She soon heard Bonnie walk in behind her.

"Is there anything we can…?" Elena trailed off; expressing the last bit of hope she had left.

Bonnie shook her head. "I'm sorry, Elena. That was our only chance."

"This entire plan was to bring _him_ back. And now he's the one person who doesn't get to. Bonnie, I can't-I can't _live_ like this! Stefan was the one person I knew was always going to be there for me, and now he's—."

"—here. He's here."

"But not for long," Elena's voice wavered. The thought of Stefan being wiped out of existence was hurting her the most. Before she could begin to cry, Bonnie put her hand on her shoulder.

"I'll let him talk to you, okay?"

Elena nodded in response. She didn't want Bonnie to translate every word; she just needed time to say goodbye, or just to say _something_.

It broke Stefan's heart to see Elena this distraught. He didn't want her to cry, he didn't want her to be sad. Stefan wanted to remember Elena as the strong and happy person that he had fallen in love with.

"You promised that you would come back, Stefan. You promised me!" Elena said through sobs. "You-you _lied_ to me. How could you let this happen to you?"

"I'm so sorry, Elena. It was either me or Damon and I could never take him away from you. I didn't think that I would cause so much sorrow from doing that." Stefan thought back to Damon turning off his emotions. That was his fault, and Damon didn't deserve to feel any more remorse. Neither did Elena. He remembered what Elena had told him the time he called her while he was stuck with Klaus. Stefan thought that it was something that he should say back to her now that he was leaving her for, well, forever. He touched her face, hoping that she might feel his hand.

"I love you, Elena. Hold on to that; never let it go."

Of course Elena couldn't hear what he had said, but she felt his touch. It only made her even sadder. "I love you, Stefan, and now it hurts me so much!"

Stefan felt a tear slip down his cheek as he kissed Elena on the forehead. "Goodbye Elena."

"Please don't leave me," Elena sputtered as she slid down against the wall to the ground. She hugged her knees and let herself cry for what seemed like eternity.

* * *

"Bonnie what does that mean?" Jeremy said through the phone to Bonnie.

"It means, Jer, that I'm not coming back. I'm still the anchor and when this place goes—,"

"Don't you dare say it, Bonnie!"

Bonnie didn't want to have to tell Jeremy that she wasn't staying alive. She didn't want to tell anybody. Bonnie found it easier to go quietly, without having to be burdened with people's sadness. It would be easier to say that she wasn't good at goodbyes.

"I'm going with it," Bonnie finished. "I'm saying goodbye, Jer."

"I won't let you do this!" Jeremy yelled on the other line.

"Goodbye, Jeremy."

"Bonnie—!"

Bonnie hung up the phone as tears fell from her eyes. The wind was gusting now on the other side.

"This place is falling apart now, isn't it?" Stefan appeared next to her.

"Yeah," she replied. Bonnie reached for Stefan's hand. "I know that we aren't best friends, but…"

Stefan grabbed her hand in response. The wind blew at tempest speed, and a white light began to surround them.

"Do you think it'll hurt?" Bonnie asked, looking straight into the light.

Stefan shook his head. "I don't kno—," was all he could say before they were completely engulfed in the light, and the other side was no more.


	5. Season 6 Preview

"Have you heard anything?" Elena asked Caroline through the phone.

"No. Look, Elena, I'm sorry that he left, but it's also a good thing. We don't have to worry about him messing up our college plans, or eating our professors," Caroline replied.

Elena sighed. "I know, Care, but I just miss him, you know? And it all seems hopeless because his humanity trigger is…"

"I know, Elena. But Damon just needs time—"

"Isn't that all he's had? You all did everything to try and turn my emotions back on. We've barely even _looked_ for Damon in the past four months. He could be dead for all we know! Caroline, we need to try harder—we need to get him back."

"When you say, 'we need to get him back' do you mean Damon or Stefan?"

There was a silence on the line. Any time Elena heard Stefan's name, she tried to force back tears that never really went away.

"I have just been trying _so_ hard to accept what happened; to move on. I'll always miss Bonnie, but I've moved on at least somewhat. With-with Stefan I…" Elena's voice wavered because she hadn't said his name in four months, "I feel like I'm stuck in this void with no way out. There's this pit in my stomach and-and these tears never go away! Care, it's just so hard to keep living like nothing is wrong."

"I know," Caroline was holding back tears too. "I know, Elena."

"We need him back, Caroline."

"Need who back, exactly?"

Elena turned to see Damon sitting on the bench next to her, smirking like he always would.

"D-Damon?" Elena stuttered in surprise.

"What? Elena what's going on?" Caroline heard Elena's surprise.

"I'll call you back."

"Elena, wha—!" Elena hung up before Caroline could finish.

She turned to Damon. "What are you doing here? I thought you were off enjoying life without humanity."

"Well, partying from L.A. to Paris all the time grew painfully insipid and boring, so I decided to drop in for a visit. Is that a problem, Elena?" the way he said her name made Elena cringe. It was easy to tell that Damon didn't feel anything for her anymore.

"No, not at all, that is, unless you try to kill anybody or inflict misery on college students. Then, we might have a problem."

Damon laughed deviously. "You sound worried; just like when you were worried I would hurt you when we first met. Well, when we met when you were with Stefan."

Elena looked for recognition in his eyes, or any flash of emotion, but there was none.

"You think that if I just think of Stefan, my emotions would just pop back on?" Damon tsked. "Come on, Elena, you know better than that. It took a lot more to turn _your_ emotions back on. In fact, I think I miss that Elena; the old Elena who was so much fun."

"You mean when I had my emotions off? When I would repeatedly break your heart, because you _loved_ me?"

Damon grabbed her neck with an iron grip. "I would suggest you stop trying to stir emotions in me, Elena. They are gone, and you are just going to have to deal with that. And you know what else is gone that I don't care about? Stefan. You can cry me a river but I will never shed a tear. You'll just have to live with that too." He let go of her, and stood up from the bench. "You know, I think I like college; spending time with good old friends. I think I might stay awhile. See you at the next party, Elena." Damon smirked and sauntered away.

Elena rubbed her neck where Damon had choked her. After she took a minute to comprehend what just happened, she quickly dialed Caroline's number. She wouldn't believe who Elena just talked to.


End file.
